Communication system

Abstract

A system comprising means for: receiving a request for locations of a plurality of devices for communicating in a network, said request comprising an identifier for identifying said plurality of devices; checking whether each of two or more devices of said identified plurality of devices has been registered on the network; in response to determining that at least one device of the two or more devices has been registered on the network, determining and reporting at least one location for the at least one device determined to be registered on the network; and in response to determining that at least one device of the two or more devices has not been registered on the network, storing at least one indication of at least one pending request for at least one location of the at least one device not registered on the network.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A system comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the system to:
 receive a request for locations of a plurality of devices for communicating in a network, said request comprising an identifier for identifying said plurality of devices; 
 check whether each of two or more devices of said identified plurality of devices has been registered on the network; 
 in response to determining that at least one device of the two or more devices has been registered on the network, determine and report at least one location for the at least one device determined to be registered on the network; and 
 in response to determining that at least one device of the two or more devices has not been registered on the network, store in memory at least one indication of at least one pending request for at least one location of the at least one device not registered on the network. 
 
     
     
       2. A system as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the identifier comprises at least one of:
 a group identifier identifying a group comprising the plurality of devices; 
 a location identifier identifying an area comprising the plurality of devices; and 
 a network slice identifier identifying a network slice comprising the plurality of devices. 
 
     
     
       3. A system as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are also configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the system, in response to determining that a device of the at least one device for which a pending request was stored has subsequently been registered on the network, to determine and report a location for the device subsequently registered on the network. 
     
     
       4. A system as claimed in  claim 3 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the system to determine and report the location for the device subsequently registered on the network by fetching the respective pending request from the memory and servicing the respective pending request. 
     
     
       5. A system as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are also configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the system to:
 use the identifier to identify at least one privacy setting associated with the plurality of devices; and 
 perform a first check of the at least one privacy setting, 
 wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the system to determine and report of the at least one location for the at least one device registered on the network is in response to determining from the first check that the at least one privacy setting allows location reporting for the at least device registered on the network. 
 
     
     
       6. A system as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are also configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the system to:
 use the identifier to identify at least one privacy setting associated with the plurality of devices; and 
 perform a first check of the at least one privacy setting, 
 wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the system to check whether each of the two or more devices of said identified plurality of devices has been registered on the network in response to determining from the first check that the at least one privacy setting allows location reporting for the two or more devices. 
 
     
     
       7. A system as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are also configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the system to perform a second check of the at least one privacy setting associated with the plurality of devices and, in response to determining that a device of the at least one device for which a pending request was stored has subsequently been registered on the network and in response to determining from the second check that the at least one privacy setting allows location reporting for the device subsequently registered on the network, to determine and report a location for the device subsequently registered on the network. 
     
     
       8. A system as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein the at least one privacy setting comprises a single privacy setting that applies to all of the plurality of devices. 
     
     
       9. A system as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein the at least one privacy setting comprises a plurality of privacy settings, each of which applies to at least one of the plurality of devices. 
     
     
       10. A system as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the at least one pending request comprises a periodic request for locations of the at least one device not registered on the network. 
     
     
       11. A method comprising:
 receiving a request for locations of a plurality of devices for communicating in a network, said request comprising an identifier for identifying said plurality of devices; 
 checking whether each of two or more devices of said identified plurality of devices has been registered on the network; 
 in response to determining that at least one device of the two or more devices has been registered on the network, determining and reporting at least one location for the at least one device determined to be registered on the network; and 
 in response to determining that at least one device of the two or more devices has not been registered on the network, storing in memory at least one indication of at least one pending request for at least one location of the at least one device not registered on the network. 
 
     
     
       12. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least:
 receiving a request for locations of a plurality of devices for communicating in a network, said request comprising an identifier for identifying said plurality of devices; 
 checking whether each of two or more devices of said identified plurality of devices has been registered on the network; 
 in response to determining that at least one device of the two or more devices has been registered on the network, determining and reporting at least one location for the at least one device determined to be registered on the network; and 
 in response to determining that at least one device of the two or more devices has not been registered on the network, storing in memory at least one indication of at least one pending request for at least one location of the at least one device not registered on the network. 
 
     
     
       13. A method as claimed in  claim 11 , wherein the identifier comprises at least one of:
 a group identifier identifying a group comprising the plurality of devices; 
 a location identifier identifying an area comprising the plurality of devices; and 
 a network slice identifier identifying a network slice comprising the plurality of devices. 
 
     
     
       14. A method as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising, in response to determining that a device of the at least one device for which a pending request was stored has subsequently been registered on the network, determining and reporting a location for the device subsequently registered on the network. 
     
     
       15. A method as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein determining and reporting the location for the device subsequently registered on the network comprises fetching the respective pending request from the memory and servicing the respective pending request. 
     
     
       16. A method as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising:
 using the identifier to identify at least one privacy setting associated with the plurality of devices; and 
 performing a first check of the at least one privacy setting, 
 wherein determining and reporting of the at least one location for the at least one device registered on the network is performed in response to determining from the first check that the at least one privacy setting allows location reporting for the at least device registered on the network. 
 
     
     
       17. A method as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising:
 using the identifier to identify at least one privacy setting associated with the plurality of devices; and 
 performing a first check of the at least one privacy setting, 
 wherein checking whether each of the two or more devices of said identified plurality of devices has been registered on the network is performed in response to determining from the first check that the at least one privacy setting allows location reporting for the two or more devices. 
 
     
     
       18. A method as claimed in  claim 16 , further comprising performing a second check of the at least one privacy setting associated with the plurality of devices and, in response to determining that a device of the at least one device for which a pending request was stored has subsequently been registered on the network and in response to determining from the second check that the at least one privacy setting allows location reporting for the device subsequently registered on the network, determining and reporting a location for the device subsequently registered on the network. 
     
     
       19. A method as claimed in  claim 16 , wherein the at least one privacy setting comprises a single privacy setting that applies to all of the plurality of devices. 
     
     
       20. A method as claimed in  claim 16 , wherein the at least one privacy setting comprises a plurality of privacy settings, each of which applies to at least one of the plurality of devices.